I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a beverage holder, and, more particularly, to a beverage holder having a housing, a heat transfer unit disposed within the housing for cooling and/or heating a beverage within the housing. People use insulated beverage holders to provide insulation to a beverage in order to maintain the temperature of the beverage. People either heat or cool their beverages to a desired temperature.
Placing the beverage within an insulated beverage housing insulates the beverage from the environment during consumption of the beverage. One type of insulated beverage holder is constructed from suitable foam configured to receive a beverage can. The foam insulation assists in maintaining the desired condition of the beverage.
Certain problems exist with the aforesaid prior art beverage holders. The beverage must initially be cooled or heated to the desired temperature. Once the beverage container is removed from its chilled environment, the beverage will adjust to the temperature of the environment. The insulated beverage container slows this result. It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage holder that maintains a proper environment for sustaining the desired temperature of the beverage to allow a user to consume a beverage at the desired temperature over an extended period of time.
II. Description of the Known Art
Patents and patent applications disclosing information relevant to beverage systems are disclosed below. These patents and patent applications are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,226 issued to Moore on Jan. 15, 1980 (“the '226 patent”) teaches a means for chilling and insulating a canned or bottled beverage such as beer including a cylindrical sleeve of reusable refrigerant disposed within an insulative beverage can holder and displacing the annular “dead air” cavity between a beverage can situated therein and the side walls of the holder. The lining 24 taught by the '226 patent is formed of thin walled material such as plastic and may be slidably removable from the holder 10.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,670 issued to Long on Nov. 8, 1988 (“the '670 patent”) teaches an insulated beverage container having both hot and cold retention capabilities designed for the purpose of maintaining, increasing, or decreasing the temperature of the contents in the container. The plastic structure of the container taught by the '670 patent, an insulating sleeve between duel walls of the container, and encapsuled between the dual walls, a thermoplastic gel capable of retaining heat as well as cold, produces a multi-action container which can be heated in a microwave oven, a conventional oven, or can be frozen in a freezer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,154 issued to Christoff on May 30, 1995 (“the '154 patent”) teaches a beverage container provided for use with a golf cart or the like having a support member. The container taught by the '154 patent includes a body having a central beverage receiving cavity which extends from the closed bottom of the body to the open top end of the body. The container taught by the '154 patent also includes means for receiving a freezable gel, the means being disposed within the beverage receiving cavity. The '154 patent also teaches a cap that is provided to be releasably attached to the open top end of the body.
The '154 patent teaches that inwardly from the bottom wall 20a is a cavity 122 which in the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 10 of the drawings, extends across the bottom surface and up along the side walls of the container body 20. This cavity taught by the '154 patent is intended to be filled with a freezable gel 27. The '154 patent teaches that interposed between the walls of the cavity 122 and the exterior wall of the body 20 is an insulator wall 126 which, once the gel is frozen, will maintain that condition for a fixed period of time.
A hollow gel receiving chamber 128d is adapted to be filled with a freezable gel. This gel filled insert may be placed in a freezer apart from the cap 125 and the body 20 to be frozen. After the insert 128 is frozen, it may be matingly threaded into the female boss 126 on the top cap 125. The body 20 is then filled with an appropriate beverage and the top cap installed as previously described.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,368 issued to Schneider on Dec. 14, 1993 (“the '368 patent”) teaches a reusable cooling and insulating device for bottles and the like that is provided in the form of a jacket having a single or plurality of flexible compartments which are interconnected having an inner chamber and an outer chamber therein. The '368 patent teaches that a heating and cooling temperature conditionable liquid is housed in the inner chamber which enables the inner diameter of the jacket formed by the inner chamber to confirm with the surface of the object on the which the jacket is positioned for heating or cooling. A flexible insulator of air or air and flexible plastic taught by the '368 patent is positioned in the outer chamber of each compartment for directing a greater temperature transfer from liquid to the object and less heat exchange from the liquid to the environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,894 issued to Searle on Oct. 24, 2000 (“the '894 patent”) teaches a container for a beverage that has a conventional external configuration with a cylindrical wall closed by a top member. The '894 patent teaches that the contents of the container can be cooled, heated, or kept hot, or kept cold by the insertion of an insert into the external cavity. To ensure good heat transfer, the insert taught by the '894 patent is push fitted into the external cavity. The insert taught by the '894 patent may be heated or cooled before it is inserted, or it may be actuable to heat up or to cool down.
The can 10 taught by the '894 patent with its contents, but without its insert 30, is stored in a refrigerator, and the insert 30 is kept in a freezer until the material 31 therein is frozen solid. When it is required to use the can 10, the '894 patent teaches that it is removed from the refrigerator and the frozen insert 30 is inserted in its cavity 20. The insulating cap 28 taught by the '894 patent is put in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,915 issued to Wagner on Oct. 10, 2000 (“the '915 patent”) teaches a portable food and beverage cooling device that includes a flexible cooling pouch having outer and inner faces. A cooling pack taught by the '915 patent is provided in the cooling pouch. A flexible insulating panel taught by the '915 patent is provided in the cooling pouch. The '915 patent teaches that the insulating panel has a central region interposed between the outer face of the cooling pouch and the cooling pack. Before use, the invention taught by the '915 patent is stored in a freezer to allow the coolant cells to freeze and be ready for use at a moments notice.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,094,935 issued to Stein on Aug. 1, 2000 (“the '935 patent”) teaches a drinking container having a removable, freezable member. The drinking container taught by the '935 patent has a cylindrical inner receptacle and a surrounding cylindrical outer receptacle. The '935 patent teaches an annular chamber that is formed between the inner and outer receptacles. A refrigerant member taught by the '935 patent comprising a plastic envelope containing a freezable gel is dimensioned to fit into the annular chamber, and is readily removable therefrom. A cap taught by the '935 patent engages the drinking container to retain the refrigerant member once placed in the annular chamber. The '935 patent teaches that the refrigerant member is preferably an annular sleeve which slips between the inner and outer receptacles, and folds flat for storage and freezing. The '935 patent teaches that the drinking receptacle includes a removable cap which closes only the open chamber which receives the refrigerant member. The cap taught by the '935 patent both retains the refrigerant member, assists in insulating the same, and excludes condensate from the refrigerant chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,604 issued to Pier on Nov. 8, 1994 (“the '604 patent”) teaches a portable and hand-held beverage chilling device, having water utilized as a coolant that can be frozen between non-permanently sealed walls of the device, that is intended for chilling and subsequent maintenance of a canned or bottled beverage at its coldest liquid state, while providing direct consumption from its container. The beverage cooler taught by the '604 patent features two cylindrical receptacles that are enclosed on one end. These receptacles, called shells, taught by the '604 patent are of different diameter and height such that the inner is placed within the outer and a coolant is contained in the spacial void created.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,149 issued to Riche on Dec. 27, 1988 (“the '149 patent”) teaches a cooling and insulating holder for a container such as a beverage can or the like that has a plurality of hollow arcuate reservoir pieces which fit together to form a ring with a receiving opening therein to receive the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,668 issued to Williamson on Aug. 23, 1983 (“the '668 patent”) teaches a flexible, multilayer thermal wrap for beverage containers. The wrap taught by the '668 patent has an inner coolant layer for wrapping about the container which conforms to the container's shape and leaves an opening at the container's top to expose the pouring end. The coolant layer taught by the '668 patent is externally surrounded by an insulative layer.
The beverage holder of the present invention is especially adapted for maintaining the desired condition of the beverage for an extended period of time. The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages of known insulated beverage holders by providing a heat transfer unit therein which cools or heats the beverage.
Therefore, the present invention is needed to improve the ability to heat or cool a beverage and to maintain the desired temperature of a beverage. The present invention is also needed to allow a user to replace the heat transfer unit with another heat transfer unit to continue to cool or heat the beverage as desired. The heat transfer unit may be removed from the housing when either heating or cooling the unit to reduce the insulating effect of the housing to reduce the time and energy required to adjust the temperature of the heat transfer unit.